Party-appointed arbitrators have recently been the subject of much debate in the arbitration community. There are those who see the ability to ‘choose’ an arbitrator as one of the fundamental pillars of arbitration. For others, it is a time- and cost-consuming exercise leading to potential conflicts and an increased likelihood of arbitrator challenges, both of which undermine the arbitral process and its reputation.

One arbitration textbook (which shall remain nameless) contains the comment that the parties’ ability to participate in the appointment of the tribunal makes the parties more likely to comply with the resulting award. At first glance this would appear to make some sense. Where the competence of the tribunal is known and respected then a ‘correct’ result is anticipated and there should be no reason to challenge or appeal the award or resist enforcement (save in exceptional circumstances). In this vein, even a losing result should be perceived as fairly reached and, as such, complied with.

In this paper we consider whether it is really the case that parties’ ability to nominate an arbitrator impacts their attitude to enforcement.

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